Frangible protective hood.



1. A. MCKEEVER L 1. SIGRIFHN.

FRANGIBLE PROTECTIVE HOOD.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 19 1917- Patented May 22, 1917.

jas:

5 IH 0 t mMNA @EIM ,VEF MKM en MG as. sus 5 Mm MTW /J M m A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. MUKEEVER AND JAMES S. GRIFFIN, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

FRANGIBLE PROTECTIVE HOOD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 22, 1917.

Application filed January 19, 1917. Serial No. 143,287.

To all whom t may concern;

Be it known that we, JAMES A. MCKEEVER and JAMES S. GRIFFIN, both citizens of the United States of America, and both residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Frangible Protective Hoods, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to frangible protective hoods and particularly to hoods for protecting against theft or tampering articles of such nature that their utility requires exposure in accessible position but which should be left alone until emergency necessi tates their use. Articles of this class are of various types, but we have in mind particularly, fire extinguishers, emergency switches, signal levers, etc., which must at all times be readily accessible for emergency use, but need protection against theft or mischievous tampering in the exposed position in which their nature demands they shall be placed.

kReferring to the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fire extinguisher over which our protective hood in one form is shown;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, partially in section;

Fig. 3 is a broken elevation of portion of the hood showing an improved fastening means therefor;

Fig. i is a side elevation of the fastening screw shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the hood arranged over an emergency switch;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section through a base showing a modied securing device for the hood.

Referring in the first place to hand fire extinguishers, which have gone into extensive and increasing use in buildings, shops and lately on automobiles, there has arisen the problem of protecting them against theft and mischievous tampering without interfering with their ready immediate accessibility for use in emergency. Fire extinguishers of this type are relatively small, and this fact, together with their value, has made them an easy subject of petty larceny. This theft is not infrequently concealed by the replacing of the charged extinguisher by a used one, thus inducing a false sense of security, since the substitution is not readily observed without close scrutiny.

By the present invention we have provided a protective hood of frangible material which is so designed that it prevents the concealed theft of the extinguisher from its support, without in any way interfering however with its accessibility or preventing its quick removal for use.

In the form shown in the accompanying drawings, our` invention comprises an elongated hood 10 of glass covering the body of the extinguisher and having side flanges 11 and l2 by which it may be secured to a supporting surface, for instance, a wall 13 by means of screws 14 passing through these flanges. The extinguisher here shown is a pyrene 15 and is supported upon the wall by the usual lower and upper brackets 16 and 17 respectively. The llower bracket comprises a cup-shaped support 18 in which the lower end of the extinguisher rests with its nozzle 19 projecting through an aperture therein. The upper bracket 17 comprises a spring fork 20, the legs of which straddle the stem 21 of the operating handle 22. It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the hood 10 extends over the body of the extinguisher and prevents the removal thereof from its supports, but leaves exposed the handle 22, so that the latter may be readily grasped.

In order that the mounting may be secure, we propose to make the base flanges 11 and 12 of greater thickness than the hood 10, the latter being of such relatively light weight that it is easily broken when the pyrene is pulled free from the spring fork 20 by the hand which grasps the handle 22. To cushion the hood and thus lessen liability to injury through vibration, pads 110 and 120 of felt or the like are interposed between the iianges and the support.

While ordinary screws 14E may be used to secure the hood in position, we prefer to use the screw 23 shown in Fig. 4c in which the metal of the screw head is sheared off on opposite bevels on opposite sides of the slot 2&1, in such manner that while shoulders 25 are provided to form abutments for the end of the screw-driver on the insertion of the screw, no abutments are provided for the end of the screw-driver on the reverse rotation of the latter. It is thus impossible1 or practically impossible, to remove the screws 23 after they have been inserted. The possibility of theft by the removal of the hood is thus minimized.

It is of course immaterial whether -the eX- tinguisher be mounted horizontally or vertically. Its manner of support is the same in any case and the hood 10 may be as readily installed in one position as in the other. The securing of the hood in place is a matter of avery few moments work. It is inexpensive and affords a protection against theft or mischievous tamy (ering which has never heretofore been a, orded.

An additional element of value may be secured by applying to the interior of the hood, before it is installed, a paster 26 on ,which is writtenthe date of the installation. This affords ready means for disclosing to a proprietor or an inspector the age of the extinguisher and gives warning that a fresh extinguisher should be substituted. This is a feature upon which fire inspectors and underwriters 'are more and more carefully insistent. u l p In Fig. 5 the hood is shown in connection ywith an emergency yknife switch 27. The hood is so positioned that while the handle 28 is readily accessible for the operation 'ofthe switch, the switch cannot be opened without breaking the hood.

A modified arrangement for flock-ing the hood in position is illustrated in Fig, 6, and comprises a sheet metal locking plate QS) with vend and side flanges, the longitudinal margin 30 lbein-g recu-rved to overlie the flange 12on one side ofthe hood. This plate may be held in position by the screws 3l .passing through the base 32 on which the article 4protected (not shown) is mounted. The opposite margin of the plate is slightly raised and provided with latching members 33. A cooperating locking plate 34 with recnrved longitudinal -margin 35, has corresponding latching members 36 which engage ythe members 33 when the plate 34 is slipped beneath the flange l1 of the hood to Isuch position that the recurved margin 35 overl-ies the hood flange 11. lt is obvious that when the hood and locking plates are in place the securing screws 31 are wholly concealed and inaccessible. Inasmuch as the latch-ing elements are also concealed beneath the hood Vflange l1, lthe hoodis securely locked against removal. VOn the breakage of the hood, however, the hood flange 11 may be withdrawn from the recurved margin 35 of plate 34, and the edge of the plateV 29 sprung away from the plate 34 thus freeing the latching members and permitting plate 34 to be withdrawn. After the adjustment of a new' hood, the plate v34 may be again slipped into position and latched to lock the hood against removal. This device affords a more convenient means for renewing hoods than the one-way screws of Figs. 3 and 4.

r le do not limit our invention to the particular form ofthe hood shown, 'or any particular means for locking it in protective position, the underlying thought of our invention being to provide 'a langible protective covering which must be broken on the use of 'the article to which it is applied and which is so shaped and arranged that it 'does not interfere with the immediate cessibility ofthe article when it is needed for use. Various modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art witho'l't departing from what we claim as our invention.

VVecla-im as our invention 1. The 'combination with an exposed device, of a frangible hood incasing the body of said device to prevent removal or manipulation thereof, but leaving a portion of said device exposed for manual hold thereof, said fhood being lso arranged as to 'be unavoidably broken by the impingentent against the inner face thereof of the device on the manipulation orremoval of the latter.

2. T-he combination with Van article having a portion to be grasped on manipulatio'n, of an independent frangible protective hood incasing said article but 1leaving said manipulating portion exped, said casing being so arranged that its inner face is unavoidably-impinged against yand fractured by the article lon ma-n-iulation or removal of the latter. Y,

3. A protective device of the type describc'd, comprising an elongated frangble hood having base flanges on opposite sides thereof, together with means engaging said base flanges for securing the hood in position.

4. The combination with a body having an operating handle at one end thereof and a support at the opposite end thereof on which said body is p'iv'otal'ly carried, olf a frangible hood incasing l"said body to prevent vremoval o1" koper'atiofn thereof but leaving the handle accessible for *the removal of the body from its support, said hood Vbeing so arranged as to lbe navoidably brolken 'by said body on its pivotal displacement from said support during the `opemtion jof removal. Y

5. A protective Adevice of the type -described, comprising an elongated fran 'ble hood open at lits ends `and having ase flanges on opposite `sides thereof, together withvmeans engaging said 'base flanges for securing 'the hood in position.

6. A protective device Vof the type described, comprising a-'n Yelongated fmngl'le hood open at its ends and lhaving base flanges on opposite sides thereof, together with means engaging said base flanges for `securing the hood in position, said flanges bei-ng 130 In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification, in the presence 10 of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES A. MGKEEVER. JAB/IES S. GRIFFIN. Witnesses:

BLANCHE M. GRIFFIN, JOHN F. BRENNAN.

of greater strength than the body of the hood.

7. A protective device of the type described, eomprising an elongated frangible hood open at its ends and having base flanges on opposite sides thereof, together with difficultly removable means engaging said base for securing the hood in position.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C." v 

